Hidden Truth
by heartbroken4eva
Summary: A girl dissapears and the team investigate. [JS]
1. Chapter 1

  
  
Sam looked up at the house in awe. Well, it was less of a house and more of a mansion. They had been contacted by Joanne Richmond, who said her seventeen-year-old daughter had gone missing. Jack, who stood beside her, pressed the ornately decorated doorbell.  
  
'Nice place, eh?' he muttered to Sam.  
  
'You can say that again,' she said in awe.  
  
The door was answered but a tall, blonde haired woman. She wore a red cashmere sweater with black pants, and diamonds sparkled around her neck and on her fingers. The only imperfection about her appearance was her swollen red eyes, which she was dabbing with a handkerchief.  
  
Jack held out his badge.  
  
'This is Agent Spade and I'm Agent Malone of the missing persons department,' he told her.  
  
'Oh yes, please do come in,' the woman said. She led them to a lavishly decorated living room. They all sat down.  
  
'When was the last time you saw your daughter Mrs. Richmond?' Sam asked.  
  
'Oh, it's Joanne dear,' the woman said quickly. 'Well, my husband has a little cottage out in the country...Melissa went up there last Wednesday for a few days to relax. She's been very stressed out with exams. Well anyway, she said she'd be back three days ago; Friday. When she didn't come home, I tried her mobile but she didn't answer. So I went out there. She knows I worry a lot about her and she's always back when she says she'll be so I was worried about her. When I got there, her car was there but the place...it was...it was empty,' she started sobbing.  
  
Sam put a comforting hand on Joanne's shoulder.  
  
'Does Melissa have a boyfriend or any close friends who she might have gone to stay with?' Jack asked.  
  
Joanne shook her head. 'She doesn't have a boyfriend, and I tried all of her friends. Besides, she definitely would have called me if she'd gone to stay with someone else.'  
  
'Do you have any idea who might want to take your daughter?' Sam asked.  
  
'Well, that's the thing. I have a pretty good idea who it could be,' Joanne said. She paused.  
  
'Go on,' Jack encouraged.  
  
'Will Holmes. He and Paul-my husband are...well I suppose you could say enemies. They own rival companies. But it goes deeper than that. They were friends at school and they had a major fallout. Things have been building up since then really. They're always trying to get at each other...I'm afraid this is Will trying to get at Paul.'  
  
'Do you really think this man would kidnap your daughter to get at your husband?' Sam asked a little sceptically.  
  
'You don't know this man...he's capable of anything,' Joanne said, her voice cracking on the word "anything".  
  
'Where is your husband?' Jack asked.  
  
'He went away on business the day after Melissa went out to the cottage,' Joanne told him. 'I haven't been able to contact him, his phone has been switched off.'  
  
Jack nodded. 'Do you think you could show us Melissa's bedroom?'  
  
'Of course,' Joanne said, getting to her feet. She led them through the spacious house to Melissa's room. It was very large, and had a beautiful view from the window. Apart from the expensive entertainment system and computer, it looked like the bedroom of a typical teenager. School books littered around, revision notes and photographs on the walls.  
  
Jack picked up a framed photograph off her dresser. It showed two pretty, smiling girls.  
  
'Is this Melissa?' he asked Joanne, pointing to the girl who resembled her mother.  
  
Joanne nodded. 'The other girl is Alice Westwood, her best friend.'  
  
Just then, a large, balding man walked in.  
  
'What's going on here?' he asked.  
  
'Paul,' Joanne exclaimed. She threw her arms around her husband. 'I'm so glad you're home. Melissa's gone!'  
  
'I know, I got your messages,' Paul told her. 'I came back as soon as I could. Who are these people dear?'  
  
'I'm Agent Malone, this is Agent Spade,' Jack told him. 'We're looking into your daughter's disappearance.'  
  
'Could I have a word with out outside dear?' Paul asked his wife.  
  
'Of course,' the tearful woman said.  
  
'What do you think?' Sam asked Jack as they stepped out of the room.  
  
Jack put a finger to his lips. They could hear Paul talking quietly, but as his voice got louder and more agitated, they could make out what he was saying.  
  
'...You could have waited for me to get back before calling the police! You know how I feel...'  
  
'But I was worried!' Joanne said, sounding upset. 'Melissa was gone, I couldn't contact you, I didn't know what to do!'  
  
'But you know how I feel about police! Dragging up the past again, I don't want all that again, dammit!' Paul said angrily.  
  
'Our daughter is gone Paul! I didn't know what else to do!' They could hear Joanne crying.  
  
'You're right,' Paul gave in. 'What's done is done. Come on.'  
  
The couple waked back into the room.  
  
'So. How are you planning to get our daughter back?' Paul asked.  
  
'Well if Mrs. Richmond could help Agent Spade find a recent photograph of Melissa, I'd like to talk to you in private, if that's alright,' Jack told him.  
  
Paul nodded. 'You can come down to my study.'  
  
'Your wife thought that a man named Will Holmes might be involved in your daughter's disappearance,' Jack said, cutting to the chase, as they sat in Paul's dimly lit study.  
  
Paul was silent for a moment as a lit a cigarette. He exhaled smoke with a sigh before talking.  
  
'I suppose she could be right. Will and I have a long history. It's not good. But I can't see him kidnapping my daughter.'  
  
'Well your wife seemed pretty convinced,' Jack told him. 'Do you have any other idea about where she might have gone?'  
  
Paul shrugged. 'She's a teenage girl. Don't they all go through rebellious phases? Maybe she's with a boy from school.' He took a long drag from his cigarette.  
  
'From what your wife said about your daughter, that doesn't sound like something your daughter would do,' Jack pointed out.  
  
'Well maybe Joanne doesn't know as much about her daughter as she thinks,' Paul snapped.  
  
'What do you mean?' Jack asked.  
  
'Nothing,' Paul said quickly. 'I just mean...girls of her age, their parents think they know everything about them, and where they are all the time is, but the truth is, they probably don't.'  
  
'And why would you think that of your daughter?' Jack asked. What was this man not telling him?  
  
'No particular reason,' Paul said. 'I just don't put Melissa up on a pedestal like Joanne does. She thinks she's this perfect, angelic little girl who can do no wrong. But our daughter is human, just like everyone else.'  
  
'So do you think your daughter could have run away? Are you saying you think she felt pressurised by her mother?' Jack probed.  
  
Paul laughed. 'Run away is something Melissa wouldn't do. No, she's got it too good here. She likes money, my girl. She likes this lifestyle.'  
  
'I see,' Jack nodded.  
  
'No, go talk to that Alice. She'll know where Melissa is, you mark my words,' Paul nodded, stubbing out his cigarette into a glass ashtray.  
  
'Right. I'll let you know if we make any progress,' Jack said, getting to his feet.  
  
'You can see yourself out,' Paul said, turning away. 


	2. Chapter 2

'Did you find anything else out?' Jack asked Sam on their way back to the office.  
  
'I've got Alice Westwood's address,' she told him. 'But apart from that, nothing. No diary or anything. What did Mr. Richmond tell you?'  
  
Jack shook his head. 'I just got a feeling there was something he wasn't telling me. He seemed to dismiss the idea that it had anything to do with this Will Holmes, he seemed to think she'd just gone off with a boy from school.'  
  
Sam frowned. 'But Joanne said that Melissa never even mentioned any male friends. And from her description of her daughter, that doesn't sound like something she'd do.'  
  
'Well from the sounds of it,' Jack told her, 'Paul Richmond seemed to think their daughter wasn't the perfect girl her mother thought she was. It sounded like he thought she was keeping something from them.'  
  
'Like what?' Sam asked.  
  
'Now that I don't know,' Jack said. 'But Mr. Richmond seemed to think that Melissa's friend Alice would.'  
  
Jack was going over his conversation with Mr and Mrs Richmond in his head. Something about it just made him feel uneasy. He had sent Vivian to talk to Alice Westwood, Danny and Martin had gone out to the cottage where they last knew Melissa to have been, and Sam was looking finding out what she could about Will Holmes, and Paul Richmond after what they had heard him say about "digging up the past".  
  
Jack was thinking for some while, when Sam walked into his office.  
  
'We need to get in Will Holmes.'  
  
'Woah, slow down,' Jack said. 'What have you found out?'  
  
'Paul Richmond and Will Holmes both own Casinos. There's real rivalry between these guys. There's been more than one incident of punch up's between Richmond's and Holmes' employees. But that's not all. Richmond's never gone down for anything, hasn't even got so much as a parking ticket. But twenty years ago he was a suspect in a murder investigation. The murder of Will Holmes' wife. If that's not a motive, then what is?'  
  
'Wait a minute,' Jack said calmly. 'You said he was a suspect, but he wasn't actually charged?'  
  
'Insufficient evidence or something,' Sam said. 'But what if Will Holmes thought that Paul Richmond did do it, and he's been waiting all this time to get his revenge?'  
  
'You could be right,' Jack nodded. 'Let's talk to this guy.'  
  
It wasn't long before Jack and Sam were sitting opposite Will Holmes in the interview room.  
  
'So what can I do for you?' Will asked. He was an even bigger man that Paul Richmond, and had dark, slicked back hair, and a very stereotypical gangster appearance.  
  
'We're here about the disappearance of Melissa Richmond,' Sam said assertively, before Jack could say anything.  
  
'Melissa Richmond,' Will said slowly. 'And why would you think her disappearance had anything to do with me?'  
  
'Well it seems that you and Paul Richmond have quite a history,' Jack said, folding his arms and leaning closer. 'So I think it's perfectly reasonable for us to suspect this has everything to do with you?'  
  
'I'm just an honest business man. You might want to give me another call when you have a scrap of evidence against me,' Will challenged.  
  
'But we have a motive,' Sam countered. 'You accused Paul Richmond of killing your wife. Did you think that because the law couldn't punish him for it, you'd do it yourself?'  
  
Will took a deep, calming breath. 'That man killed my wife twenty years ago. Why would I wait until now to pay him back?'  
  
'I think you're a smart man Mr. Holmes. You knew that if you tried anything straight away, the finger would be pointed at you. So you waited, biding your time, planning the perfect way to get your revenge,' Sam suggested.  
  
Will's previously calm face started to go red as he clenched his jaw. 'Yes I accused him of killing my wife. Because he did it. You lot couldn't prove it, but I know the truth. He was jealous...insanely jealous because she loved him and not me. So he took from me the one person I've ever really loved...'  
  
He stopped and took another breath. 'He killed my wife. I do want him punished, and I can sleep soundly at night because I know that one day he will be, not by you lot, and not by me either, but he'll get his karma.'  
  
'Well it looks like you're right about that Mr. Holmes, it looks like Mr. Richmond is getting "his karma".' Jack got to his feet. 'You can go. But next time I'd bring my lawyer.'  
  
'Do you believe him?' Sam asked after Holmes had left.  
  
'Well despite the fact that we have no other leads, and he is a very obvious suspect, for some reason I think he was telling the truth,' Jack sighed. 'We'll have to see what the others have dug up when we get back.'  
  
When they did get back, Vivian was still out talking to Alice, but Danny and Martin were back from the cottage.  
  
'We didn't find much,' Danny told them. 'Her bed's been slept in, no signs of a struggle. Her car's in the driveway. It's like she just vanished.'  
  
'Well we found out something interesting,' Sam told them, and filled them in on their conversation with Will Holmes.  
  
'Paul Richmond killed his wife?' Martin asked in disbelief.  
  
'Well he seems to think so,' Sam said.  
  
'Seems like Holmes could be our man,' Danny concluded.  
  
'Quite possibly,' Jack nodded. 'But we shouldn't make any assumptions.'  
  
'Hey guys!' It was Vivian, just then walking into the office. 'I've got something important.'  
  
She took a moment to take off her coat, and then explained to them exactly what she'd discovered.  
  
'I went to talk to Alice Westwood. At first she didn't give me anything that we didn't already have, no boyfriend, a few close friends. But I could tell there was something she was keeping to herself, so I told her that any information would be vital in tracing Melissa's whereabouts. She said she was worried about getting Melissa into trouble, I told her that Melissa was already ready in a lot of trouble and anything she could tell us would help us get her out of it. So she told me. Melissa has been sleeping with Will Holmes.' 


	3. Chapter 3

Jack took a moment to process this. 'Melissa has been sleeping with Will Holmes?' he asked, as if he couldn't quite take it in.  
  
Vivian nodded. 'Apparently she met him at a party. Alice said that at first she had just been doing it as a way to rebel against her parents-she knew that he and her father were enemies. But it's been turning into something more serious. She's been telling them she's going to see Alice almost every day, when she's actually been going to see him. My first thought was that maybe she'd run away with him.'  
  
Jack shook his head. 'He's still around. And surely if she wanted to rebel against her parents she would want to tell them she was leaving home to be with him. Still, we should search his house anyway. He might have just been using their relationship to gain her trust, so he could use her to get to Mr. Richmond.'  
  
'That would explain why there didn't seem to have been a struggle at the cottage, if she thought she was with someone she could trust,' Danny added.  
  
'It looks like Mr. Holmes could be our man after all,' Jack sighed.  
  
'Do you really think it's Holmes?' Samantha asked, walking into Jack's office a little later.  
  
He cocked his head and looked at her. 'By the tone of your voice I'd say you don't.'  
  
She sighed. 'It's just what you said about thinking he was telling the truth. And if he was sleeping with Melissa, wouldn't that be enough of a one up on her father, without doing anything else to her?'  
  
Jack nodded. 'That's what I was thinking. But Holmes is our only lead. He's all we've got until we can find something else.'  
  
Sam sighed and looked down.  
  
'Are you alright?' Jack asked with concern.  
  
'Yeah,' Sam nodded. 'It's just this job can be frustrating at times. If I only I could have said to this girl "it's not a good idea to get involved with a man that clearly has a vendetta against your father" then it would never have come to this.'  
  
'I thought you didn't think it's Holmes,' Jack pointed out.  
  
'But if it is...' Sam trailed off.  
  
'I know it's hard,' Jack said sadly. 'But doesn't it make it all worth it when you see a family reunited, and it's thanks to you?'  
  
Sam smiled. 'You're right.'  
  
'You've just got to think about bringing this girl back to her parents. No what ifs.'  
  
Jack smiled, and stroked Samantha's shoulder. It was meant to be comforting, but it made her feel something else, something that shouldn't be there.  
  
'Thanks,' she said quickly, and walked out of the office.  
  
Danny and Vivian were at Will Holmes house with a search warrant when he arrived home.  
  
'What's going on?' he demanded. 'If this is about drugs again, I'm going to do you lot for harassment...'  
  
'Actually this is about the disappearance of Melissa Richmond,' Vivian told him calmly. 'I'm Agent Johnson, this is Agent Taylor. We have a warrant to search your house.'  
  
'Wait a minute, I've already been questioned about that,' Holmes said angrily. 'I told them I haven't got anything to do with this.'  
  
'Well we have reason to believe you do,' Danny countered. 'We know you've been sleeping with her. What, was doing Paul Richmond's daughter not enough revenge for you, did you have to do her in as well?'  
  
'Woah, woah, woah,' Will Holmes raised his hands. 'Those are harsh accusations. Maybe we should step into my study and talk about this rationally.'  
  
Danny shook his head. 'Or maybe we should step into basement, maybe you've got Melissa tied up in there. Or maybe your attic, maybe that's where you've strung her up...'  
  
'I didn't hurt her!' Will burst out. 'I love that girl. I wouldn't lay a finger on her!'  
  
'You love her?' Danny asked in disbelief. 'That girl is seventeen! And the daughter of the man that you believe killed your wife, come to that. You're telling me that when you were with her, it wasn't to get one over on Paul Richmond?'  
  
'I admit,' Will said, his hard-man exterior seeming to fade, 'at first...it was just to get at Paul. I know he killed her. I know you lot don't believe me, but there's no one else who would have wanted to harm my Sandy. She was beautiful, dignified but gentle. Everyone loved her. Including Richmond.  
  
We were friends once, the best of friends. He and Sandy had a thing going on, until she met me. For her, her relationship with Paul wasn't serious, but with me it was love. She spilt up with Paul, but we kept our relationship from him because I knew it would cut him up. Until we wanted to get married. And I wanted Paul to be my best man. What an idiot I was.  
  
Sandy went to talk to Paul, she said she didn't want us to lose our friendship because of her and she wanted to make it right. Next thing I know, she's found dead in a ditch. So you tell me that he didn't do it! You tell me you wouldn't want revenge!'  
  
'You wanted revenge? So you killed his daughter?' Danny asked.  
  
'No...no I meant by sleeping with her. I met her in my club, I didn't even know who she was. She was gorgeous, all over me. I didn't even realise she was so young, she looked much older than seventeen. We ended up sleeping together. I've had women since Sandy, but no one like Melissa, she was something special.  
  
When I found out who she was, I felt sick. I had been entwined with the offspring of that man...I had felt her skin, smelt her hair. But then I started to think, what would happen if Paul knew? How I had made his precious little daughter moan? Maybe after all this time, I could repay him for some of my pain. He took my wife, so I took his daughters innocence.  
  
I carried it on. At first, every time I touched her, it felt as good as if I were punching Richmond in the face. But when the day came when she wanted to tell her parents, I stopped her. I knew that if she told them, then it would be over. And I didn't want it to be. I realised that when I touched her, it didn't just feel good because I was getting at Paul. It just felt good. I fell in love with Melissa.'  
  
Holmes looked at Danny and Vivian, pain and anguish in his eyes. 'So you can search my house. She's not there.'  
  
'We'll do that Mr. Holmes,' Danny said, although his voice was not so harsh now. 


	4. Chapter 4

While Will's house was being searched, Vivian sat down with Will to talk to him.  
  
'When was the last time you saw Melissa?' Vivian asked.  
  
Will smiled. 'Going up to that cottage was just an excuse to spend a few days with me. I went up there on Wednesday evening. It was amazing. I've not felt so alive since being with Sandy. Since her death, my life has been revolving around money and my own little empire. Suddenly I'd found something else to live for.  
  
But everything fell part on Thursday evening, when Paul turned up. He must have wanted to drop in on Melissa on the way to wherever he was going. Well, he walked in on us in bed. He got really angry, started shouting his head off at Melissa. I wanted to stay, to be honest I would have liked to get into an argument with Paul, or even better, I wanted to tell him Melissa was leaving home to be with me. But Melissa told me to go, and so I did. That was the last time I saw her.'  
  
Vivian was frowning. 'So Paul was the last person to see Melissa?'  
  
'I guess so,' Will said. 'Didn't he tell you? I figured that was how you knew about Melissa and I?'  
  
'No, no it wasn't,' Vivian said, getting to her feet. 'Please excuse me Mr. Holmes, I have to go.'  
  
Vivian went and found Danny.  
  
'I've got to get back to the office,' she told him.  
  
'What's going on?' Danny frowned.  
  
'I don't have time to explain,' Vivian said. 'You stay, finish searching. I just hope I'm wrong.'  
  
Sam and Martin were researching in the office. Sam was looking at the timeline they had constructed, hoping for some sudden flash of inspiration.  
  
Martin sighed. 'I need a break. Do you want a coffee?'  
  
'Sure, thanks,' Sam said, smiling at him. 'That would be good.'  
  
'I think I'll have a muffin with that,' Martin mused. 'Do you want one?'  
  
'No thanks,' Sam said, turning her attention back to the timeline.  
  
'Back in a minute,' Martin said.  
  
Sam was so engrossed in thought, she didn't hear someone come up behind her.  
  
'Getting anywhere?' a deep voice asked behind her.  
  
Sam spun round. It was Jack.  
  
'Oh,' she said startled. 'No...not really.'  
  
'This case is a tough one,' Jack sighed. He looked up at the picture of Melissa. 'She looks like how I would have pictured you at that age. Fresh. Beautiful.'  
  
'Jack,' Sam said hesitantly. She looked up at him. Those dark eyes, which she tried so hard to avoid. Jack said everything through his eyes. His sorrow for all the bad things that happened in the world and his regret that he couldn't change them. And Sam couldn't deny the love she saw for her in those eyes.  
  
Sam suddenly felt her breath catch in her throat as he looked at her. She didn't want him to speak, for it would ruin the moment. She wanted him to hold her, and yet there was something holding him back. Something more than his wife, something more than their professional restraints. It was like Jack wanted to preserve their relationship, wanted to keep it pure. But Sam wanted more. She wanted to kiss him. She moved closer, so she could feel his breath on her cheek.  
  
'Sam...' he said softly in protest. Her eyes hushed him. She was going to do it, make the dreams that haunted her come true.  
  
'Jack!' Vivian exclaimed as she rushed in.  
  
Jack turned from Sam, and moved from her, trying to pretend that nothing had just happened, or at least, it hadn't been on the brink of happening.  
  
'What is it Vivian?' he asked.  
  
'I was talking to Will Holmes, and he told me the last time he saw Melissa. It was at the cottage. They were in bed together when Paul Richmond turned up. He got angry and Will left. He said he hadn't mentioned it because he thought Paul had told us, and that's how we knew about their relationship.'  
  
'That means Paul Richmond was the last person to see Melissa alive! And he lied to us!' Jack exclaimed. 'We've got to get over there.'  
  
Martin was whistling as he walked back to the office, holding two coffee's and a double chocolate muffin which he couldn't wait to eat. He looked around. Sam was gone. Jack wasn't in his office.  
  
'Where is everyone?' he asked aloud. Only the silence of the empty room answered him.  
  
Jack knocked on the door of the Richmond's house, Vivian and Sam on either side of him. Joanne Richmond answered the door. She looked as glamorous as ever.  
  
'Agent Malone,' she said. 'Have you found my daughter?'  
  
'I'm sorry,' Jack shook his head. 'Is your husband around?'  
  
Joanne shook her head, looking deflated that it hadn't been good news. 'He's at his car dealership. You can wait if you want, he won't be back for a while.'  
  
'If you can give me the address, I might go over there,' Jack said.  
  
'Right,' Joanne said, going to get a card.  
  
'Sam, I think you should stay here and explain everything to Mrs. Richmond,' Jack said.  
  
'But I want to go,' Sam protested.  
  
'I'll stay if you like,' Vivian offered. 'I spoke to Alice and Will, I might be able to explain it better.'  
  
'Fine,' Jack said, having no reason to argue.  
  
Joanne was back a moment later with the address.  
  
'Here,' she said, handing it to Jack.  
  
'Thank you Mrs. Richmond,' Jack said.  
  
'There's a few things you should know about,' Vivian said, as Jack and Sam walked away. 'Can I come in?' 


	5. Chapter 5

Mariel- Thank you! It's your appreciation that keeps me writing this thing.  
  
Jack and Sam drove to Paul's car dealership in silence. It was near their own headquarters, further into the centre of the city, and took a good 10 minutes to get there.  
  
'We need to take this casually,' Jack said, as they walked among the cars to Paul's office. 'We can't go throwing around accusations. I'll ask Paul when the last time he saw his daughter was and give him the chance to tell us. I'll take it from there.'  
  
'Right,' Sam nodded.  
  
They reached Paul's office, and Jack knocked on the door.  
  
'Come in,' called the voice of Mr. Richmond. He looked up in surprise when Jack and Sam walked in.  
  
'Agent Malone. Agent Spade. I was expecting someone else,' Paul said shiftily.  
  
'We've come to talk you about your daughter,' Jack said. 'May we sit down?'  
  
'Of course,' Paul said, motioning to two chairs on the opposite side of him across his large desk.  
  
Jack and Sam sat down.  
  
'Have you come across anything new?' Paul asked.  
  
Jack shook his head. 'I'm just trying to get together all of the facts. When was the last time you saw your daughter?'  
  
'Before she went up to the cottage,' Paul said without hesitation.  
  
'Are you sure about that?' Jack asked.  
  
'Positive,' Paul said, narrowing his small eyes.  
  
'Were you aware your daughter was having a relationship with Will Holmes?' Jack asked.  
  
'No I wasn't,' Paul said, his mouth a thin straight line. 'Is it true?'  
  
Jack nodded.  
  
'Well then you should be out there, talking to him. If what you say is so, then surely that's all the more reason to suspect him.'  
  
'I thought you didn't think it had anything to do with Will Holmes,' Sam pointed out.  
  
Paul opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, Jack continued,  
  
'We've actually just been talking to Mr. Holmes. He seemed to think you knew about their relationship. In fact, he told us that you walked in on them, in that cottage, in bed together.'  
  
Sam half expected Paul to crumble then, but he held Jack's gaze, his face unfaltering.  
  
'Okay. So I walked in on them in bed together. Do you really think I was going to tell you? Do you think I wanted strangers knowing what kind of daughter I'd raised?'  
  
'So you failed to mention it,' Jack said flatly. 'Despite the fact that it could have been crucial for the investigation into finding your daughter. You do know that makes you the last person to have seen you daughter?'  
  
Paul narrowed his eyes. 'If you're accusing me of anything, I think we should do this with my lawyer present, don't you?'  
  
'Maybe we should,' Jack agreed. 'I presume neither you or your lawyer will have any objections to the DNA team going over your car?'  
  
'DNA?' Paul frowned.  
  
'Oh yes,' Jack nodded. 'Police investigation has come along in leaps and bounds over the last twenty years. DNA evidence is now thought of as important evidence.'  
  
Paul's face paled. 'What reason do you have to search my car? Melissa is my daughter for God's sakes.'  
  
'Yes Mr. Richmond she is, but you were the last person to see her alive, and that makes you a suspect,' Sam said, sitting forward in her seat. She had been sitting quietly, watching Paul very closely.  
  
'So you call your lawyer, and we'll go back to the station, and call the DNA team,' Jack said, knowing he now had the upper hand. 'Unless there's something you'd like to tell us first?'  
  
'If you tell us where she is, things will be a lot easier on you,' Sam urged.  
  
Jack frowned at Sam, he wanted to get more evidence before outright accusing Paul. However, Paul lowered his head, and looked defeated. 'I don't think things can get any easier on me.' He sighed and his hands now trembling, pulled out a cigarette. He took a moment to light it, and then spoke again.  
  
'Melissa was my princess, you know? My baby girl, my shining jewel. I thought if I could raise her well, I would be making up for all the mistakes I'd made in my life. I used to think as highly of the girl as her mother did, maybe more so. I was an idiot.' He laughed bitterly.  
  
'I tried to put you off talking to Will. I figured if Melissa had been screwing him, there must have been others, boys at school she'd been with behind our backs. I hoped that Alice would have sent you down some other path. I didn't count on her knowing as well. You shouldn't have even been involved...I was planning to just hire a private detective, and point him in the "right" direction. But Joanne had to go and call you.'  
  
'What did you do to Melissa, Paul?' Sam asked tentatively.  
  
He put a hand to his head and rubbed it as if in pain. 'I didn't mean to hit her. I was so angry. All my illusions of her had just been shattered. Maybe if she had been with a boy of her own age, it wouldn't have been so bad, but she had been with him, my ex best friend who stabbed me in the back and accused me of killing his wife.'  
  
When Paul moved his hand a little, Sam could see his eyes were filled with tears. 'I loved Sandy.'  
  
'Like you loved your daughter?' Jack said softly.  
  
Paul let out dry sob. 'Do you have a daughter Agent Malone?'  
  
'I have two,' Jack affirmed.  
  
'How would you feel? How would you feel if you saw your daughter, who you loved so much, and had so much faith in, behaving like a cheap slut and a whore? It was the ultimate betrayal!' Paul exclaimed.  
  
'I would never hurt either of my daughters,' Jack told him. 'Is Melissa dead, Mr Richmond?'  
  
'I didn't realised what I had done,' Paul choked. 'She was on the floor...I thought she was unconscious. I put her in my car, to take her to hospital. When I stopped to look at a map...I looked at Melissa, and I knew she was dead. She just looked lifeless.' Paul looked down at his hands. 'How could I have killed her? I still don't understand it.'  
  
'Where is she?' Sam said, taking a calming breath. It all seemed so horrific.  
  
'I took her back...back to the woods near the cottage, and I buried her. I panicked, I didn't know what else to do. Oh God, it's going to be bad for me, isn't it?  
  
Jack paused for a moment. 'I think it's time to go, Mr. Richmond' 


	6. Chapter 6

Mairel- My next fic? Hadn't thought that far ahead!  
  
Vivian received a call on her mobile whilst still at Joanne Richmond's house.  
  
'What is it?' Joanne asked. 'Have they found her.  
  
'Mrs Richmond, I'm very sorry,' Vivian said sadly.  
  
'Oh God no,' Joanne said, her hands covering up her mouth. 'What's happened? What's happened to my daughter?'  
  
Vivian explained to Joanne what Jack had just told her. Joanne's rigid frame seemed to crumble as she took it in that Paul had killed Melissa, and tears started to fall down her cheeks. She had lost not only a daughter but also her husband.  
  
It was hard too for Will Holmes. Danny went to tell him what had happened.  
  
'...I'm so sorry,' Danny finished. He felt bad for being so hard on Holmes when it was so clear now that he really had loved Melissa. Holmes covered his face, and shook his head. When he finally composed himself a little, he removed his hands and looked Danny straight in the eye.  
  
'He's going to pay this time, isn't he?'  
  
Danny nodded. 'Paul Richmond is going to be locked away for a very long time.'  
  
At the office, there was a sad feeling in the air. It was always like this, when the person who had been missing turned out to be dead. It was quite a contrast to the upbeat, happy atmosphere they had when they had just found someone, alive and well, and reunited them with their loved ones.  
  
Sam was filing away Melissa's case late that evening. She pulled down the photograph of the smiling blonde girl. Jack was right, she did look a lot like Sam had done when she was younger. Perhaps to her father she had just been a cheap tart and a whore, but in Sam's eyes she was just a girl who had fallen for the wrong guy.  
  
She could see how Will Holmes had fallen for her. She looked just like her mother, but younger and if possible prettier. And now she was dead. Sam always got a shiver down her spine looking at as photograph of someone who was dead; when it had been taken, they had been alive.  
  
'Are you alright?' A voice startled Sam and made her spin around. It was Jack, walking out of his office.  
  
Sam smiled weakly and nodded.  
  
'You should be getting home, it's late,' Jack said, looking at his watch.  
  
'Nothing much to get home for,' Sam shrugged. 'I was just thinking about this poor girl.'  
  
'It's tragic,' Jack sighed.  
  
'I just don't understand how a father could kill his own daughter,' Sam said shaking her head. 'No matter what she had done, she was still his daughter.'  
  
'Richmond was a man used to solving his problems with violence. I guess he just couldn't cope with his anger and disappointment with his daughter, and just lashed out.'  
  
'Do you think he killed Sandy Holmes?' Sam asked.  
  
Jack shrugged. 'He seemed to proclaim his innocence as much as Holmes object it.'  
  
'Don't you think if he'd confessed to killing his daughter, he would have confessed to killing Sandy as well?'  
  
'Not necessarily,' Jack shook his head. 'Perhaps he thought confessing to two murders would make his situation even worse. Or maybe he had been saying he was innocent so much that he came to believe it himself. I think he would have been more than capable of killing Sandy, if he could kill his own daughter. If he really did love her that much it could have made him angry enough to do it.'  
  
'What a horrible way to express love,' Sam shuddered.  
  
'I guess some people can't express their love properly...' Jack stopped. The topic of love was risky territory. 'I should go.'  
  
'Don't go,' Sam said softly. 'Melissa reminded me of myself in some ways. After what you said about picturing me to look like her at that age, it made me think. The similarities go beyond looks. I mean, both falling for the wrong man...'  
  
'Don't Sam...' Jack said sharply.  
  
'Why?' she asked. 'Why must we keep pretending? Don't tell me you don't feel the same way.'  
  
'I do love you Sam,' Jack said, lowering his eyes. 'But like a daughter or a sister.'  
  
'Not like a daughter or a sister! I've seen the way you look at me. What's the point in lying to yourself?'  
  
'The point?' Jack asked. 'The point? The point is, nothing can ever happen between us Sam. No matter how much either of us wants it to. Our job won't allow it, and I'm still married, remember?'  
  
'I know,' Sam sighed. 'But can't you just, for one moment forget about all that? Stop thinking about what's wrong or right, and just do what your heart wants you to.'  
  
Jack looked at Sam, and look in his eyes took her breath away. For a moment, they just gazed at one another, and then tentatively, Sam moved closer. Jack's silence permitted each step. When she stood before him, she spoke.  
  
'Just...for one minute, forget everything. Pretend it's just you and me,' Sam's eyes begged him.  
  
Jack slowly lifted his hand up to Sam's cheek. As if mesmerised, he caressed her soft skin. Sam lifted her head, and kissed him on the lips.  
  
'This isn't right,' he said, shaking his head.  
  
Sam looked up at him with pleading, loving eyes. Jack felt like he could drown in those eyes, and slowly they made him forget his inhibitions. This time he kissed her. Sam felt almost as if she were in a dream, he was so gentle and tender. But as passion overcame him, he kissed her more forcefully.  
  
Finally Jack pulled himself away and they looked at each other breathlessly.  
  
Jack rubbed the back of his neck. 'Do you...do you want to go for a coffee?'  
  
Sam smiled. 'I'd like that.'  
  
Together, they walked from the office. 


End file.
